Community HealthCare Connections

Community HealthCare Connections is Closing 1/20/2017

It is with heavy hearts that we are announcing the closure of Community HealthCare Connections (CHC) and the Nursing Clinic of Battle Creek, effective January 20, 2017. Due to changes in health care and changes in the focus of many of our longtime funders, we are unable to financially sustain the services we provide.

Community HealthCare Connections grew out of the merger in 2009 with the Nursing Clinic of Battle Creek which opened in 1988 and the Calhoun Health Plan which started in 2005. Our mission has been to serve as the health access resource to the uninsured and underinsured residents of Calhoun County. Since this union we have focused on assisting individuals by removing healthcare barriers that prevent them from connecting to the care they need.

CHC has provided Calhoun County residents with excellent healthcare assistance over the years. Through the Nursing Clinic of Battle Creek our volunteer providers have treated thousands of uninsured and underinsured residents since 1988. We have also had great success with our Navigation services. Our Navigators help connect individuals with resources to overcome their healthcare barriers. This was done through utilizing our Prescription Drug Access Program, Health Assistance Fund, Dale Griffin Rides for Life program, and the Lions Club Eyeglass Program. CHC was also able to reach many individuals who could not come to us through our Mobile Outreach Services. Many of our programs were Pay-It-Forward programs, meaning patients donated time, clothing, or hygiene items to help others and we provided the patients with the services they needed. We are very proud of all of our programs and accomplishments throughout the years.

For many years CHC has been generously funded by many local organizations. Local funding, paired with Federal Indigent Care funding, has allowed us to expand services to meet growing community needs and to create initiatives that made up the secondary safety net – the safety net for the safety net. However, with the Affordable Care Act (ACA), pharmacy rebates and Federal Indigent Care funding have been eliminated amounting to a reduction of roughly $780,000 per year. This, along with cuts and changes in the strategic focus of many of our major funders has led to this sad decision.

During the months of December and January our staff will be working with our patients to help transfer their care to other doctors and agencies, helping them with refills, and assisting in finding other services to make this transition as easy as possible. Patients are encouraged to contact us and let us know how we can help them during this time of change.

It has been our honor to have served and assisted the uninsured and underinsured residents of Calhoun County over these many years. The work that we do is near and dear to our hearts and we have greatly valued our relationship with our patients, our volunteers, and the community. Thank you for your loyalty and friendship over the years.